Amelia

Octoman's Will save (DC18): 13. "Experience tranquility."

Octoman's Reflex save (DC20): 29. Octoman's Toughness save (DC20): 11. Octoman's Fortitude save (DC15): 21. EDIT: I forgot that he has Evasion, so that Reflex save should result in no damage instead of half, so I shouldn't have rolled those other saves.

My advice, logistically speaking, for this, or or anything like this, is to take the same approach to this that my textbooks tell me to take to programming: Break it up into pieces. The more pieces, the better. The smaller the pieces, the better. Run a bunch of threads concurrently or consecutively, but don't have more than 3-4 PCs in each thread at the most, including yours if you're bringing one of them along.

How is Goanna able to inflict damage in the same turn that he initiated the grapple? Is he surging for another standard action?

Since he's one of the youngest students at Claremont, I decided to bust Octoman down to PL8. Assuming this rebuild gets approved, please be sure to archive this version, and please be sure to update the link in the Reward Tracker.

In Brief: Spider-Man as re-imagined by Guillermo del Toro, with bits of Robin and Daredevil mixed in. Character: Octoman Power Level: 14 (Built as PL8) Tradeoffs: None Power Points: 206/207PP Unspent Points: 1 Catchphrases & Nicknames: "Octo-Boy" (He does not like this one); "Señor Ocho"; "The Outrageous Octoman"; "The Crime-Fighting Kraken"; "The Sensational Cephalopod"; "The Loudmouth Leviathan"; "Who ordered the calamari?" Alternate Identity: Benicio "Ben" Wang Identity: Secret Legal Status: USA citizen (minor) with no criminal record Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York Base of Operations: Freedom City, New Jersey Residence: The Claremont Academy dorms during the week, and an apartment in the West End on the weekend Occupation: Student Affiliations: Claremont Academy (Student) Family: Amaya Molina Santiago (Mother), Diego Wang (Father), Sofia Santiago Vasquez (Maternal Grandmother), Benicio Molina Ramirez (Maternal Grandfather), Jasmine Guinto-Wang (Paternal Grandmother), Asher Wang (Paternal Grandfather), several unnamed aunts, uncles, and cousins DESCRIPTION Age: 16 (Date of Birth: 2003) Apparent Age: 16 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Mother is Puerto Rican Afro-Latina. Father is half Ashkenazi Jewish, half Filipino. Height: 5'7" Weight: 140 lbs. Hair: None (Formerly Black) Eyes: Yellow (Formerly Brown) Because of his mixed ancestry, Ben's actual ethnicity is difficult for people to guess at first glance. He has big eyes and a heart-shaped face with soft features which makes him look younger than he is. His build is that of a typical semi-athletic lanky teenager. During his day-to-day life out of costume, he uses his shapeshifting power to mimic his original appearance before his mutation. He recreates the brown eyes that turned yellow, and the medium-length Afro hairstyle he wore before all his body hair fell out. He also hides the new lines and folds all over his skin, which appear to be scars but are actually new orifices. The other changes to his body from the mutation are less visible. An x-ray would reveal his lack of a rigid skeleton, and several new organs and muscular structures. His blood is thick, like syrup, and purple, since it contains both the hemoglobin normally found in humans (which is red, since it contains iron), and the hemocyanin found in cephalopods (which is blue, since it contains copper). His blood pressure is significantly higher than that of a normal human. When he is cut, his blood generally sprays instead of dripping. His blood is also slightly radioactive; not enough to be dangerous, but enough for Geiger counters to register a noticeable uptick. Ben technically walks around naked most of the time. Both his normal street clothes and his superhero "costume" are just manifestations of his ability to change the shape, texture, and color of his own flesh. When he is "in costume", the impossibly perfect way that the "fabric" clings to his skin is a clue for close observers to its true nature. His "mask" somehow adheres to his face in a manner which conveys all of his facial expressions , and the "mouth hole" never falls out of place or exposes any of the skin around it, no matter how much he moves, talks, or gets punched in the face. HISTORY Benicio Wang was born in Brooklyn to Gen-X parents. His mother, Maya, is an overworked public defender of Puerto Rican Afro-Latina descent. His father, Diego, is a half-Filipino, half-Ashkenazi overworked baker and deli cook. Ben frequently jokes that his lineage makes him the most Brooklyn guy who ever lived. If one of his parents are in earshot, they will retort that they moved to Freedom City when he was a small child, and visiting his grandparents during the holidays doesn't make him a New Yorker. Ben met Geckoman in 2010, though Gecks probably doesn't remember. The 18-year-old superhero was occupied with defending Freedom City from the third Grue invasion, and working things out with his supervillain girlfriend. But Ben will never, ever forget it. He was only seven years old when his family found themselves trapped in the Millennium Mall, huddling behind an increasingly fatigued and desperate Spellbound. Ben was impressed with her and the lightning-wand she used to zap away the invading aliens, but with her black costume and icy demeanor, she scared the boy almost as much as the Grue. When the brightly-colored, wise-cracking Geckoman dropped down through the skylight and started jumping around, tossing boomerangs, and kicking giant monsters in the face, little Ben's fear evaporated. From that day forward, Ben was a lifelong #Geckofan. Eight years later, Doctor Cooper Seidel was hard at work trying to stabilize and enhance his universal antivenom serum, and his resulting transformation into the reptile monster Goanna. He had retained a gang of hired thugs who had helped him steal the lab equipment, rare animal specimens, and radioactive materials he needed for his latest experiments. He closely monitored local law enforcement communications, so he had advance warning when the multi-agency task force finally found his hideout and moved to raid it. Seidel and his henchmen hastily loaded the irradiated animal specimens into a truck and escaped just as the tactical units broke down the door. The truck had enough of a lead that they might have escaped, if a bystander hadn't lost their grip on their dog's leash. Or if the dog hadn't then run out into the middle of the road. Or if fifteen year-old computer science prodigy Ben Wang hadn't run out into the road after the dog to scoop it up. Or if Seidel's henchman hadn't swerved at high speed to avoid Ben and lost control of the truck, flipping and crashing it. The truck and the tanks inside it broke open, spilling water and a menagerie of mutated animals into the street. Ben saved the dog, but the truck clipped him, sending him flying several feet away. He was dazed for a few moments, before the rush of cold water on the asphalt under him cleared his head. He saw a tiny yellow octopus crawling on his hand, and had just enough time to think it was cute before it bit him. Seidel ordered his henchmen to gather up the escaped test subjects, but no amount of money could convince them to pick up a bunch of radioactive venomous creatures with their bare hands. While Ben was wracked with painful muscle spasms which escalated into projectile vomiting, diarrhea, and a full-blown seizure, an enraged Seidel transformed into Goanna and slaughtered his own "cowardly and incompetent" henchmen, along with the occupants of the first couple of police cars who responded to the crash. Goanna intended to do the same to the bumbling idiot boy who had ruined everything, but when he saw that one of his test subjects had already done the work for him, he merely laughed while the boy suffocated on the pavement. Knowing that some combination of the FCPD's STAR squad, AEGIS, or one or more superheroes would show up soon, Goanna fled into the sewers. Seidel showed up at the hospital where Ben had been taken later that same night, intent on harvesting samples from the boy's corpse, since it was all the remained of his months of research. He was surprised to learn that the boy had survived. He took careful note of the boy's name, and resolved to keep him under close surveillance. Ben received prompt medical attention, and he seemed to make a full recovery, with one exception: The song he'd been listening to on his headphones when he dove out in front of that truck was the last thing he would ever hear. Hearing loss isn't a normal symptom of either vehicular collisions or tetrodotoxin poisoning, but the doctors had no other idea what else could have caused it. It wasn't until several days after he was discharged from the hospital that Ben's body began to change significantly. The changes happened gradually, over the course of several months. Ben hid them from everyone, even his parents. As his new powers slowly manifested, he learned how to use them through a combination of new instinct and trial and error. He knew immediately what he wanted to do with them. Right after his sixteenth birthday, during the summer before his sophomore year of high school, Ben put on his costume and started swinging through the streets of Freedom City as Octoman. PERSONALITY & MOTIVATION Ben is bright, inquisitive, and altruistic, but he can't keep his big mouth shut. Growing up as the latchkey-kid only child of two workaholic parents has turned him into a bit of an unconscious attention-seeker. He likes to make an entrance. He has an opinion to share about everything. If he's not rambling, he's arguing. If a joke or an insult comes to his mind, then it also comes out of his mouth. He never stops trash-talking during a competition or a fight. He's actually a pretty lonely and sensitive kid, but he never met an emotion he couldn't hide under sarcasm or just drown out with his motor-mouth. He doesn't know how to pick his battles, and his refusal to let the slightest disagreement, injustice, or insult go unchallenged gets him into trouble. But even when he's railing against injustice, he generally tries to keep things light. He'll keep making bad jokes and puns past the point where anyone is laughing (if they ever were to begin with). After his brush with death, Ben just felt lucky. But once his powers manifested, weird though they are, he felt blessed. Ben has two passions in life: Hacking, and superheroes. He maintains active accounts on both HeroHouse and TroubAlert (Username: Geckofan). He's been obsessed with Geckoman in particular (and, to a lesser extent, the rest of his Young Freedom and Interceptors teammates) since he was seven years old. He had resigned himself to, maybe, at best, using his hacking skills to play a support role for a superhero someday. But he desperately wanted to be an actual superhero, just like Gecks. His resulting disability and (slight) disfigurement have put a damper on his enthusiasm, but only a slight one. He's still having trouble adjusting, but he loves being a superhero more than he misses his hearing. POWERS & TACTICS Ben has a surprising amount of hand-to-hand combat training for a teenager. He's been wrestling since junior high, and he's been taking self-defense classes since he was seven (they weren't a hard sell for his parents after he almost died in the Grue invasion). His superhuman agility and flexibility, his bundle of sticky tentacles stretching and lashing out for dozens or hundreds of feet in every direction, his lack of response to any auditory stimuli, and his youthful recklessness and loud mouth all combine to make him a confusing and irritating opponent. He can potentially attack or evade in any direction. He can lash out with his tentacles like whips, use them to grab a foe and pull them in for a punch or a kick, or use them to pull himself in close for the same. He will wrap his tentacles around a foe, and then slam that foe into objects, terrain, or even other foes. He'll grab a faraway foe and pull them in for a punch, or pull himself to them, boot-first. His ink sprays and venomous bite make him even more unpredictable. Ben was a normal human, but an injection of radioactive octopus venom mutated him into a human-cephalopod hybrid. His body has grown several new glands, organs, and orifices. He has no bones left in his body. They have transformed into cartilage and muscle. So while his body looks "solid" from the outside, he can bend, stretch, and compress his flesh, contorting into any position and squeezing through any crevices. His skin can secrete a clear mucous which acts as a lubricant to aid this process. The outer layers of his flesh are so flexible and malleable that he can change the texture of his skin at will. His skin cells contain pigments which can be released with muscle contractions in a virtually infinite variety of combinations, allowing him to change his coloration to anything he can imagine. These traits allow him to effectively becoming invisible in the normal visual light spectrum, or to mimic the appearance of any object or creature. This also makes it virtually impossible for foes in hand-to-hand combat to keep a grip on him. He has superhuman levels of strength, agility, stamina, and resilience. With his thick skin, powerful and flexible muscles, and lack of a rigid skeleton, he is able to absorb traumatic impact, cuts and blunt force alike, with less likelihood of real injury. He has grown several "back-up organs", which makes it less likely that any wounds he suffers will be debilitating. He has three hearts, and enough brain and nervous tissue running throughout his body to act as a second brain and spinal cord. His body will recover inside a couple of hours from wounds that would kill or cripple a normal person, or at least leave them bedridden for days. Like a cephalopod, his body can even regrow lost limbs. He isn't technically immune to fatigue, disease, infection, radiation, or extremes of temperature or pressure, but his body is so effective at fighting them off that sometimes it seems like he is; he has, for lack of a better term, "super-health". New orifices on his forearms and on the sides and back of his torso can deploy tentacles*, which can stretch until they are hundreds of feet long. The same neural tissue running through the rest of his body also runs through the tentacles, allowing his brain to control all of them perfectly. (*Technically, these new limbs are "arms", rather than "tentacles", since they have suckers along their entire length, instead of just at the ends, but this distinction only matters to marine biologists.) His body contains a network of hollow tubes and bladders similar to a cephalopod siphon. He can use muscular contractions to force fluids through those tubes and out of his body through a series of new orifices. The primary use of his internal siphon is locomotion. By forcing air or water through it, he creates jet propulsion, launching himself through the water or up into the air. That internal siphon can also expel the pungent, opaque black ink produced by another one of his new organs. He can release it gradually, creating a cloud which provides cover (the gas quickly dissolves in open air, so it is equally effective under water or on dry land), or he can fire a concentrated burst of ink directly into the face of an enemy, temporarily blinding them and overwhelming their olfactory senses in a manner similar to that of tear gas or pepper spray. A substantial portion of his extra brain tissue is devoted to processing visual and olfactory input, and the suckers on his tentacles act as extra noses and tongues. His senses of sight, smell, and taste are enhanced far beyond those of a normal human. His eyes can perceive a wider array of color at finer detail, and he has excellent night vision. He can distinguish fine details in scent and taste, and track them to their source like a bloodhound. His body is truly amphibious, adapted equally well to life in open air or under water. His aforementioned increased visual acuity allows him to see perfectly in the dim light of deep water. He has gills on the sides of his neck, which remain closed in open air but which allow him to breathe while he is under water. His skin acts as near-perfect insulation, keeping him from losing his body heat. His blood contains both hemoglobin and hemocyanin, so it is equally effective at keeping his tissues oxygenated in both open air and freezing water. His siphon allows him to regulate his internal fluid pressure, which, along with his flexible muscles, lets him adapt to the crushing weight of the deep sea. His head contains venom sacs, which produce a paralytic poison similar to that of the octopus who bit him. His body injects this poison with a combination of a pharyngeal jaw and a proboscis: A pair of pincers, similar to a cephalopod beak, on the end of a second tongue, hidden under his original tongue, which can telescope over a foot from his mouth, fully extending in a fraction of a second. His own body is immune to this venom, and other, similar toxins. COMPLICATIONS Accidents: Ben is inexperienced and reckless. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for declaring that Ben's actions have created some sort of hazard, which he must drop his current task to deal with. Alien Blood: Ben's blood is a wildly different color and consistency from normal human blood, and it is slightly radioactive. Once it leaves his body, it is no longer subject to his Morph power, and its true nature is revealed. Since his blood pressure is so much higher than that of a normal human, when his blood does leave his body, it is usually quite obvious. It is not dangerous, but Geiger counters will register a noticeable uptick in its presence. The GM can give Ben a Hero Point if his blood causes some sort of setback. Examples include revealing his presence when it would otherwise go unnoticed, or social interaction turning hostile when he is revealed as something not quite human. Disability (Deaf): Ben permanently has the Deafened condition (Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, page 171). He suffers a -4 penalty to Initiative, and he automatically fails auditory Notice checks (Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, page 52). Ben has another Acute Radius sense, his normal olfactory sense, but that doesn't necessarily provide him with the same information that an auditory sense would. The GM can give him a Hero Point every time he suffers a setback due to his inability to hear, such as missing important dialogue. The most common example would be a failure on his part to correctly read another person's lips while they speak. According to the Masterminds Manual, page 14, in order to read lips, he must make a visual Notice check at +5DC. According to Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition, pages 51-52, this is a base DC10 check, since it is DC0 to notice something standing out in the open but DC10 to perceive fine details about it. With the +5 penalty, the Notice check for lip reading would have a base DC15, with an additional +5 DC if the GM decides that Ben is "distracted", and another +1DC for every 10ft Notice increment between Ben and the person whose lips he's trying to read. If he fails by 1-4, then he can't make out what they're saying, and if he fails by 5+, then he misinterprets their words. Enemy (Goanna): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when Goanna shows up to make an already bad situation worse. Since Goanna knows Ben's secret identity, he could show up anywhere, at any time. Loudmouth: Ben doesn't know when to keep his big mouth shut. The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he creates a setback for himself by mouthing off. Alternately, the GM can give another character a Hero Point when Ben creates a setback for them. If the GM doesn't feel that Ben is being sufficiently mouthy, then they can give him a Hero Point in exchange for forcing him to mouth off in a situation where doing so will create a setback for him. Alternately, the GM can give another character a Hero Point and force Ben to mouth off in a way which will create a setback for that other character. Obsession (Geckoman): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point if Ben creates a setback for himself due to his obsessive hero-worship of Geckoman, such as neglecting his responsibilities or ruining a social interaction. The GM can also give him a Hero Point in exchange for forcing him to do this. Power Loss (Ink, Venom): Ben's body produces ink and venom which he can use as weapons, but it does not produce an infinite supply, and once depleted, it takes time to replenish. The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he tries to use one of these powers in exchange for declaring that he has run out of "ammunition". Prejudice: Ben is black, Latino, Asian, Jewish, disabled, and a mutate. The GM can give him a Hero Point when another character's ignorance of and/or prejudice against one or more of these groups creates a setback for him. Responsibilities (Family, School): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he faces a setback on account of obligations to his parents or his schoolwork. For example, the GM can give him a Hero Point at the start of a day or thread and declare that he is Fatigued because he didn't have time to get enough sleep. Secrets (Identity, Mutation): The GM can give Ben a Hero Point when he has a task to accomplish, but is hindered by the need to protect his identity, and/or his nature as a mutate. Sensory Overload (Olfactory, Visual): Ben has enhanced smell, taste, and vision. The GM can give him a Hero Point in exchange for increasing the effective power rank of sensory powers like Dazzle which target those sense types. Status (Minor): It's possible that Ben might face a setback on account of his legal age which even his Morph power and high Bluff score couldn't get him out of. If the GM can come up with one, then they can give him a Hero Point in exchange for inflicting it upon him. ABILITIES 2 + 4 + 4 + 8 + 4 + 8 = 30PP Strength: 26/12 (+8/+1), 56/12 Lifting (Heavy Load: 58,880 lbs. [29.44 tons] / 130 lbs.) Dexterity: 26/14 (+8/+2) Constitution: 26/14 (+8/+2) Intelligence: 18 (+4) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 18 (+4) COMBAT 6 + 6 = 12PP Initiative: +12/-2 (+8/+2 Dex, +8 Enhanced Improved Initiative, -4 Deafened) Attack: +8 Melee (+3 Base, +5 Melee Attack Focus), +3 Ranged (+3 Base) Grapple: +32/+10 vs one target, +28/+10 vs multiple targets (+8 Melee Attack, +8/+2 Strength/Dexterity, +4 Additional Limbs, +6 Elongation, +6 Super-Strength) Defense: +8 (+3 Base, +5 Dodge Focus), +2 Flat-Footed Knockback Resistance: 4/1 SAVING THROWS 0 + 0 + 6 = 6PP Toughness: +8/+2 (+8/+2 Con) Fortitude: +8/+2 (+8/+2 Con, +0PP) Reflex: +8/+2 (+8/+2 Dex, +0PP)Evasion 2 Will: +8 (+2 Wis, +6PP) SKILLS 72R = 18PP Acrobatics 3 (+15/+5)Skill Mastery Bluff 13 (+17)Distract, Fascinate, Fast Task (Feint, Taunt), Skill Mastery, Taunt Computers 13 (+17)Online Research + Well-Informed, Second Chance, Skill Mastery, Ultimate Skill Craft (Electronic) 1 (+5) Disguise 0 (+5/+4, +10 or +50 with Morph) Escape 0 (+14/+2, Automatic with Insubstantial) Knowledge (Current Events) 6 (+10) Knowledge (Physical Sciences) 1 (+5) Knowledge (Pop Culture) 11 (+15) Knowledge (Technology) 6 (+10) Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 1 (+5) Languages 3 (American Sign Language [ASL], English [Native], Hebrew, Spanish) Notice 3 (+15/+5)Deafened Search 1 (+15/+5) Sleight of Hand 3 (+15/+5)Skill Mastery Stealth 3 (+15/+5) Swim 4 (+15/+5)Swimming FEATS 24PP Attack Focus (Melee) 5 Chokehold Distract (Bluff) Dodge Focus 5 Fascinate (Bluff) Fast Task 2 (Feint, Taunt) Grapple Finesse Luck 2 Online Research Second Chance (Computers) Skill Mastery (Acrobatics, Bluff, Computers, Sleight of Hand) Taunt Well-Informed Ultimate Skill (Computers) Enhanced: Environmental Adaptation (Underwater) Evasion 2 Improved Initiative 2 Uncanny Dodge (Sense Types: Olfactory) POWERS 116PP Additional Limbs 4 (10 Limbs; Extras: Duration [Sustained]; Feats: Ambidexterity) [5PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Retractable Tentacles) Concealment 2 (Normal Vision; Flaws: Blending, Passive) [1PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Elongation 6 (Elongate 300ft per Move Action, 250ft Max, Free action to retract; 60ft Range Increments for elongated melee attacks; Flaws: Limited [Additional Limbs]) [3PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Stretchy Tentacles) Enhanced Constitution 12 [12PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Redundant Organs, Regeneration, Super-Toughness) Enhanced Dexterity 12 [12PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Agility, Super-Reflexes) Enhanced Feats 4 (Evasion 2, Improved Initiative 2) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Reflexes, Super-Senses) Enhanced Skills 36 (Acrobatics 4, Disguise 1, Notice 10, Search 10, Sleight of Hand 4, Stealth 4, Swim 3) [9PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Agility, Super-Reflexes, Super-Senses) Features 2 (Environmental Adaptation [Underwater]; Internal Compartment) [2PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Immunity 6 (Cold; Critical Hits; Poison; Pressure; Suffocation [Underwater]) [6PP] (Descriptors: Brain Tissue Distributed Throughout Body, Gills, Insulated Skin, Internal Network of Fluid Bladders & Siphons, Mutation, No Skeleton, Venom Glands) Insubstantial 1 (Feats: Subtle) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, No Skeleton, Shapeshifting) Morph 1 (Any Form; +5 Disguise) [3PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Octopus Movement 2 (4PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power) [5PP] Base Power: [4PP] Leaping 4 (x25, Running Long Jump: 450ft) [4PP] (Descriptors: Biological Jet Propulsion, Mutation) Alternate Power: [4PP] Swimming 4 (25MPH, 250ft per Move Action; Can Take 10 on Swim checks) [4PP] (Descriptors: Biological Jet Propulsion, Mutation) Octopus Power 13 (26PP Array, Feats: Alternate Power 4) [30PP] Base Power: [14 + 12 = 26PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Super-Strength) Enhanced Strength 14 [14PP] Super-Strength 6 (Lifting Strength: 56, Heavy Load: 58,880 lbs. [29.44 tons]) [12PP] Alternate Power: [22 + 4 = 26PP] Dazzle 8 (Sense Types: Olfactory + Visual; Flaws: Range [Touch]; Feats: Extended Reach 4 [25ft], Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [22PP] (Descriptors: Ink Spray, Mutation) Obscure 2 (Sense Types: Olfactory + Visual; Area: 10ft radius; Extras: Independent, Total Fade [4 rounds]; Flaws: Limited [One Sense: Normal Vision], Range [Touch]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Ink Cloud, Mutation) Alternate Power: [24PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Shapeshifting) Morph 8 (9; Any Form; +45 Disguise) [24PP] Alternate Power: [26PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Pharyngeal Jaw, Proboscis, Venom) Paralyze 8 (Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude], Secondary Effect; Feats: Improved Critical 2 [18-20]) [26PP] Alternate Power: [26PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, "Tentacle Storm") Snare 8 (Extras: Area [Type: Targeted, Shape: Cone], Engulf, Selective; Flaws: Duration [Concentration]; Feats: Chokehold, Progression [Area Size] 1 [25ft/rank = 200ft]) [26PP] Regeneration 7 (Recovery 1 [+9]; Recovery Rate: Injured 3 [1 minute], Staggered 1 [20 minutes], Disabled 2 [1 hour]; Feats: Regrowth) [8PP] (Descriptors: Mutation) Super-Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2 [Full Speed; Not Flat-Footed]) [4PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Suckers) Super-Senses 6 (Acute Tracking Smell/Taste; Danger Sense [Sense Types: Olfactory]; Low-Light Vision; Microscopic Vision 1 [Dust]; Uncanny Dodge [Sense Types: Olfactory]) [6PP] (Descriptors: Mutation, Suckers) Abilities (30) + Combat (12) + Saving Throws (6) + Skills (18) + Feats (24) + Powers (116) - Drawbacks (0) = 204/207 Power Points ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC23/16 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Additional Limbs 250ft Max, + Elongation 60ft Increments Ink 25ft DC18 Reflex Dazzle (Visual + Olfactory) DC18 Fortitude Recover Tentacle Storm Touch/Area DC18 Reflex (Staged) Entangled/Bound (200ft Cone) Venom Touch DC18 Fortitude (Staged) Slowed/Paralyzed

Doktor'd Persephone: 4PP to spend. Please increase her Dexterity from 14 (+2) to 18 (+4). That puts her at 0PP. Then decrease her Reflex save by -2. That puts her back up to 2PP. Increase Wisdom from 20 (+5) to 24 (+7) for 4PP. That puts her at -2PP. Then decrease her Will save by -2. That puts her back up to 0PP. Decrease her Base Defense from +4 to +3, and purchase a rank of Dodge Focus. That will net her 1PP. Spend 1PP to get the Distract (Bluff) feat. (Please list it in the superscript next to that skill bonus.) That puts her back at 0PP. Drop 2 ranks each from her Acrobatics, Concentration, Medicine, and Sense Motive skills, 8 ranks total. Give 4 of those ranks to Swim, increasing it to 9 (+9). Drop the other 4 ranks to free up 1PP. Spend 1PP to get the Fascinate (Diplomacy) feat. (Please list it in the superscript next to that skill bonus.) Decrease her Enhanced Defense from 6 to 4, freeing up 4PP. Decrease her Enhanced Reflex from 6 to 4, freeing up another 2PP. That puts her back at 6PP. Spend 2PP to give her Protection 2. That puts her back down to 4PP. Spend 4PP to increase her Plant Control array by 2 ranks. That will change the array, the BP, and each AP to the following: That puts her back at 0PP. Her tradeoffs at PL10 are now "-2 Attack / +2 Damage, -2 Defense / +2 Toughness". Her Attack bonus is now "+4, +8 Plant Control". Also, please change the wording of her Benefit feat from "Vibora Bay Municipal Defender" to "Vibora Bay City Defender".

Doktor'd Mister Strix: 1PP to spend. Please increase his Enhanced Skills by 4 ranks for 1PP. +1 Acrobatics +3 Search

Doktor'd Dirge: 2PP to spend. Please increase his Charisma from 10 (+0) to 12 (+1) for 2PP. Note that this will also increase his Intimidation and Perform skill bonuses.

Those of you in threads with me may have noticed that I’ve been distracted lately. School has been part of it, and I’ve been happy to let that be the whole excuse, but it’s not just school. I’ve been sorting through some personal issues in the background, issues I wasn’t ready to be open about yet. I’m probably still not ready now, but I got this out in the open on social media, and I want to get it out in the open here, too. I spend too much time here not to. I’ve finally decided to stop lying about who I am, to myself and to others. I’ve decided to stop running away from it and talking myself out of it and repressing it. I’m trying to be less of a coward. In other words, I’m coming out. I’m trans. I’ve always been trans. I’ve felt it since I was five years old. I don’t identify as a cis het man. I never have. I identify as a lesbian trans woman. I always have. All the friends and family over the years who joked about me being “a lesbian in a man’s body” were, unbeknownst to them, literally 100% correct. I got put in the Boy Box, and I stayed there to placate and appease the rest of the world, but I’ve never felt like I belonged in it, and now I’m stepping out of it. I’ve followed a disproportionately high number of trans people on social media, BY SHEER COINCIDENCE OF COURSE, JUST TRYING TO BE A GOOD ALLY, and when I see the progress they’ve made on their own transitions, I’m not just happy for them. I also feel an intense stew of envy, longing, and despair. It took me a while to admit that cis people aren’t jealous of trans people. Other trans people are. I’ve recently started undergoing hormone replacement therapy (thank you, Planned Parenthood), among other things. Fun fact, when I finally came out to the spouse I’ve talked about so much over the years, they came out to me too, as non-binary. So we’re going through a lot of the same stuff at the same time. They changed their pronouns to they/them, and they’re seriously considering changing their name to something more androgynous. I’m not changing my name, since I share it with one of the most iconic lesbian characters in the history of popular fiction. (Google “THE L WORD SHANE” if you don’t know what I’m talking about.) I am changing my pronouns. She/Her preferred. I’m not going to complain if you screw up. I understand if it takes some getting used to. Some of you have known me for a long time. Old habits are hard to break. I’m also still suffering from such an overwhelming case of impostor syndrome that I probably won’t argue with you if you do overtly refuse to accept my identity. Part of me definitely still thinks that all other trans people’s identities are valid, but that mine is a delusion that I have no right to expect other people to play along with, no matter how real it feels to me. But I imagine other people will call you out even though I won’t. And even if I don’t call you out on it, please know that being misgendered HURTS. (I guess for some people, that’s the point.) It always hurt, even back when I was pretending to be a guy, but it hurts so much worse now that I’ve started admitting it. If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask. I’m more comfortable with answering them in the Discord than on here. You can ask in open chat or in a private message, whichever you prefer. I’m willing to answer any questions, no matter how ignorant or invasive they may be. In the meantime, also feel free to talk among yourselves. I’m “out”, so there’s no need to worry about who knows what.

Octoman Move Action: He Taunts Sea Devil. He'll take 10 with Skill Mastery to get 30 on his Bluff check. If he wins, she's Shaken for 1 round (-2 to every roll). Standard Action: He Charges at Sea Devil with an unarmed attack. His Swimming can launch him 250 feet with a single move action. He'll All-Out Attack and Power Attack for +2/-2 each. Attack roll: 30. If that hits, then it's a DC27 Toughness check, nonlethal damage. All-Out Attacking and Charging puts him at -4 Defense (+6 / DC16) until his next action.

Octoman Octoman couldn't hear Sea Devil's words, nor could he have read her face's approximation of "lips", even without her armor in the way. But he could see her blast his classmate in the chest with her trident. "SQUADDY!" he screamed. Then his face contorted into a grimace and his eyes narrowed. This is it. This is why you're here. This is where you prove you're not like THEM. He flexed the bladders inside his body, expelling a rush of air that sent him flying through the water directly at the Deep One hero. "EAT FIST YOU FROG-FACED FREAK!" Giving no thought to self-preservation, he launched himself like a torpedo at her, clenching his fist and swinging it as hard as he could.

Updated the index to include a new "Archived/Inactive" category, and moved Torque and Mirror to it.

Octoman "I'm kinda worried the remake is gonna lack the political subtext of the original. Like, that one was all about The Troubles in Ireland. All the best horror movies are like all the best sci-fi movies, y'know? They're ABOUT something. Blood effects look SICK though. Looks like they went practical. Mad respect." Ben didn't recognize Daphne at first, having only seen her in her "superhero mode" shape. "Hey, 'sup" he offered, barely even looking at her. But then the suckers which periodically unfolded from the creases in his palms like tiny flowers blooming caught a big whiff of her, and his eyes widened, recognition dawning. "OH HEY! 'SUP!" He turned his full attention to her. "I thought that smell was just, y'know, HIM." He pointed a thumb at Davyd. "So are you, like, a teacher here now?" "Hell to the power of YEAH we're up for it!" He gave a sideways fist-bump to Davyd without looking at him. It didn't occur to him that he might not be invited. Ben's eyes widened, further than they should have been physically capable of. He grabbed Davyd's shoulder. "DUDE! I'M GONNA BE JEFF GOLDBLUM!" For a few moments, his flesh shifted and changed colors until he looked and sounded exactly like the actor did back in the mid-1990s, complete with a pair of black-rimmed glasses that were formed from Ben's own body. "MUST GO FASTER! Do your stuff. Jolly Roger! CHECKMATE."

Octoman "PIT'S FULLA SPIKES!" Octoman shouted to the others from above. "BIG ONES! REALLY BIG ONES! SO, LIKE...DON'T FALL!" One of his tentacles stretched and loosened, dropping him down past the cages. It then immediately contracted, pulling him back up to eye-level with the prisoners, like a bungee cord. He grabbed onto the bars of one of the cages and pulled, sending himself swinging in a circle around them, taking note of which cages were occupied and which were empty. Then his tentacle retracted, hoisting him back up to the roof, where his hands and feet stuck firm. "Gonna try somethin'!" He sent all of his tentacles surging toward the occupied cages. They slid inside between the bars and wrapped around the ceilings of the cages, gripping them firmly. "OK, I THINK I can lift 'em if he drops 'em again! Get in there and get yer POOF on!"

Just to clarify, there was no one inside the cage that fell, right?

There you go, @RocketLord, Persephone did her IC post so Cheval can do his. Then it's probably time for the next GM post.

Persephone With a subtle hand gesture from the green woman, a column of seaweed braided itself together and lifted her up onto the deck of the Elizabeth Dane. "Please, y'all have to let us evacuate this ship. We know it's not sinking anymore, but it isn't near out of danger either. More of those ties could snap free at any moment, especially with the boat still leaning all off-kilter like this. With all these crates sliding around willy-nilly, it's the world's biggest game of bumper cars, only without the bumpers. And we put out the fire, but another one could start up anytime. I know y'all have a lot of money wrapped up in all this stuff, but it's just that, money and stuff. It can be replaced. You can't be replaced. I'm sure y'all got loved ones who'd give every penny they have and everything on this boat ten times over to get you back safe and sound." She gestured toward the massive bed of kelp floating next to the ship. "I know it doesn't look like much, but at least it's safe. There's mines in the water and we already lost one boat and the ten souls that were on it. We can't lose any more."

Heritage retired Torque, so I think it's just the three of us now?

Dirge "These people vanished. And in their remnants you find traces of another people wh also vanished. So whatever doom befell one no doubt struck down the other before them as well. A great wheel has spun around once again. If we do not find the culprit and destroy them, we will be next. A glorious death is worth nothing if no one else survives to remember it and tell the tale." When the robots delivered the snacks, Dirge waited until the others had taken their portions before rising to his feet. He scooped up a bowl of chips with one three-fingered hand and the whole remaining carafe of wine with the other, ignoring the glasses. He downed half the remaining wine in a single gulp, then turned his attention to the chips. "Apples and carrots, these are known to me. Similar plants grew on Ku'unum, back when anything could grow there, before the Star-Khan's TREACHERY!" He raised a fist into the air, and since that fist was still holding a half-full carafe, he splashed a puddle of wine onto the floor. "But these 'beets' you speak of..." He threw his head back and tipped the bowl into his mouth, depositing a fistful of chips which he then chewed several times before continuing, his mouth still full. "What are they?" Then he grabbed one of the honey bowls and downed it as if it were a shot of liquor.

Octoman "Octo-core Ryzen Seven, seventeen-hundred X, sixty-four gigs RAM, four terabyte hard drive, solid state all the way. Not where I'd like it to be, but I guess it could be worse. It's been enough to poke my nose in some places that thought they were nose-proof. My laptop's, like, EMBARASSINGLY ANCIENT, but I can't afford both, and upgrading the tower's more bang for the buck, y'know? Once I got into programming I got my whole family to basically stop giving me gifts that weren't Fry's gift cards. They're all civvies, y'know, normies, Muggles, they wouldn't know HDD from solid-state, so it's just easier that way. Plus, that way Mamá and Tatay don't have to make time to actually go shopping. Bar mitzvah cash was a big boost, even though they made me put like half of it into bonds. Parents, am I right?" "What can I say? Old Lady is MAD insecure. Grownups get like that when you call their bluff. Soon as you're like 'And what're you gonna do?' they start freakin' out." Ben walked up the wall and then onto the ceiling as the students made their way down the halls. He was a bit overwhelmed by the political discussion the other students were having, especially since he wasn't good enough to read so many lips at once, so he kept missing phrases. His greatest contribution was weakly interjecting at one point "Y'know, information, like, wants to be free, and stuff!"

Persephone The green woman led the other heroes back to her BMW as discreetly as she could, glancing around to make sure there weren't any observers before dashing over to it and sliding inside as quickly as she could. As she had with Betsy before, she tossed a quick "It was a gift" toward Sagrado Corazon once they were inside. "At least it'll fit in where we're headed." Then she pulled into the nearest alley and went through the reverse of the process Betsy had observed upon their arrival. She stepped out of the car, reached into the back seat to grab her dress and undergarments, slipped them on, clicked the magnetic clasps into place, and then transformed from Persephone back into Camellia. The green skin faded to pink while the purple hair and eyes faded to platinum-blonde and ice-blue. The leaves and moss under her clothes fell away from her skin like they'd been shed by a tree in the fall, and they crumbled into dust before they hit the ground. The lower two feet of her hair did likewise, breaking free by itself and dissolving in the wind, so that what remained hung down to her buttocks instead of her ankles. She brushed stray dust off of her skin in a few places, shook the bottom of her dress to clear out a few more, then climbed back inside. "I reckon it's best if we don't attract too much attention at first." She glanced at Sagrado Corazon in her rear-view mirror as she pulled out of the alley and started driving toward Oldcorne. "Betsy and I already grabbed coffee on the way over here, but I'd be happy to stop somewhere if you'd like some. Don't drink out of my cup, whatever you do, or our next stop's the emergency room. Have you eaten anything today, Sweetie?"

Octoman's Will save (DC15): 21. He officially has no chill.

Dirge: 5 IC posts = 1PP (That puts him at 160, so he's PL11 now) All Aboard The Nightmare Ship (4) For A Fistful of Tepeyoite (1) Mister Strix: 6 IC posts = 1PP Century For A Dame (6) Octoman: 21 IC posts = 2PP (That puts him at 206PP, so he's PL14 now) Ancient Enemies (3) The Eagle Flies Alone (1) Hydra Yas Queen (1) New To Freedom (2) Phone A Friend (5) The Pinball Wizard Strikes! (2) #ReleaseTheRavenCut (4) Reptile Brain (3) Persephone: 3 IC posts = 1PP, +1PP Guide = 2PP (That puts her at 205PP, so she's PL14 now) Deep Runs The Dreadnaut (1) Transylvanian Mix Tape (2) Santa Muerte: 4 IC posts = 1PP, +1PP Reputation = 2PP Calling All Heroes (4)

Mister Strix The pale man raised an eyebrow. "I...don't get that a lot. Not that I have many conversations these days." The instant that Davyd's blood started leaving his body, the pale man sniffed and his head jerked up. He could already smell the blood pumping through the veins of every mortal in the club, but blood that was exposed to open air may as well have been right under his nose. The black discs at the center of his eye started to expand. He closed his eyes tightly and inclined his head. His unnaturally long fingers gripped the table in front of him, hard enough to make a slight *CRACK* sound, barely audible as his hands left tiny craters in the underside. Silly monster...you're never not thirsty. Not really. The cold didn't normally bother Davyd. He didn't usually even notice it. But when he approached the pale man's table, he started to feel as if he'd walked into a freezer. The glass he was holding fogged up, and the outer edges of the liquid inside started to freeze into slush. The pale man rose to his feet so quickly he was a blur, sending his chair tumbling to the floor. About half of Davyd's "drink" landed on the front of his suit. If he hadn't been distracted, he might have dodged the whole splash. He sighed and looked down at himself. "It's fi-RRRRRRR..." The smell of blood on his own shirt slammed into the pale man's nostrils like a runaway train and his words dissolved into an deep, gutteral, bestial growl. He kept his lips tightly shut, but behind them his fangs had already descended. His tongue had already elongated and was eagerly probing. His fists clenched. As he stood staring at Davyd, the black discs at the center of his eyes slowly started expanding again. Not here not now not him not here not now not him not here not